Craig Ruvere

03Aug 2021 by CJ

Mental struggles do not need to define who you are

Did you ever look at another person closely and wonder what’s hiding behind their smile? Are they creating a fictitious persona whose purpose is simply to conceal their mental struggles? Does seeing that smile – the universal expression for joy, pleasure, excitement, satisfaction, and many others – cause you to perhaps inaccurately deduce that this person is void of life’s challenges and un-wanting of a kind word or a dose of unsolicited compassion? In a way, we’re all nothing more than actors in a play. Settings and circumstances vary from one scene to another, and therefore we must conform to specific roles we’re expected to portray either by society, co-workers, spouses, friends, or even ourselves. Frequently the motivation for such scenes is simple - smile, smile, smile! Never let the…

14Jul 2021 by CJ

Down in the dumps? Next time try doing this to feel better

Generosity & Kindness, Life & Living

"It's OK to be down in the dumps - just don't stay there too long." - Catherine DeVrye, Author. From time to time, we all find ourselves down in the dumps, or put another way, discouraged, depressed, or just plain sad. Some of us are more prone to such occurrences (you can't see me, but I'm raising my hand), which makes every-day day life challenging and difficult to navigate our way through. Sometimes, there are pre-indicators and warning signs that we may soon feel down in the dumps, such as holidays and birthdays or after having difficult and confrontational conversations with co-workers or loved ones. But other times, such feelings emerge out of nowhere – catching us off guard and forcing us to try and deal with the circumstances when…

12Jul 2021 by CJ

Doing the right thing doesn’t always come with privileges

Life & Living

“Doing the right thing isn't always easy - in fact, sometimes it's real hard - but just remember that doing the right thing is always right.” - David Cottrell, Business Author. Many of us go through our lives doing the right thing regarding finances – abiding by rules, being responsible, and even respectful of what money represents. Growing up, my grandfather always tried to instill in me the importance of financial responsibility. His perspective was undoubtedly the result of the economic disparities he witnessed during The Great Depression and in the years that followed – forever cementing a mindset that few of us possess today to appreciate money, not take it for granted. While some of us commit to financial freedom, making the necessary sacrifices to achieve that goal, others…

17Jun 2021 by CJ

Make every interaction count to help build your overall customer experience

Generosity & Kindness, Information & Education

“Make every interaction count, even the small ones. They are all relevant.” - Shep Hyken The pandemic has forced some industries to the brink of extinction while allowing others to flourish at unprecedented levels. One of those industries is home improvement. As people found themselves at home more than they’d ever been before over the last year, they started to notice the “imperfections” of their environment and suddenly the industry exploded. Halfway through 2020, searches for home improvement companies were up almost 50% and according to Porch.com, 3 out of 4 homeowners surveyed completed a major renovation project since the start of Covid-19, and roughly the same percentage already have one scheduled. With this flurry of new business, one might hope that home improvement companies have not lost a critical…

07Jun 2021 by CJ

Video games as adults – would you play hopscotch too?

Youth

Growing up, I used to love playing video games. My next-door neighbor and I would spend hours camped out in my basement for our daily competition to see who would go farther on Super Mario Bros. I also used to love digging in the dirt with my toy backhoe and dump trump, playing pretend with my Transformer action figures, and making mud meatballs out of the clay soil in the back of my garage. Ah to be young with nothing but idle time on your hands. I used to do a lot of things when I was younger - things that wouldn’t seem very appropriate if you found me doing them at 46 years old. Could you imagine what the neighbors would say if they saw me playing with my…